Holts Summit voters to decide on renewing 20-year-old sales tax

Holts Summit voters will decide on Nov. 6 whether to renew a 20-year-old sales tax. The .05 percent sales tax is earmarked for capital improvements and if renewed, would continue until 2033.

Holts Summit City Administrator Brian Crane said the city primarily used the original sales tax revenue to build a new sewage system. He said the renewal would expand upon necessary improvements to city infrastructure.

"Continuing their investment for public infrastructure and improving the quality of life for the citizens through a variety of different public improvement projects for the police department, the sewer department, the street department and our parks system," Crane said.

If voters choose to extend the tax, Crane said each of those city departments would receive one-fourth of the total tax revenue annually.

“I started here in ’97 and we had probably 600 customers and now we’re at a little bit over 1650 customers as we speak so in 15 years we’ve more than doubled — probably 1.5 times the customers we have,” Edwards said.

Without the tax revenue, Edwards said the department would have to pull more money out of their operating budget.